Reflections
by Aroihkin
Summary: [AU] [WIP] After the fall of Lord Galcian, Vyse and Ramirez are swapped. Will Ramirez still manage to call down the Rains without his own Crystal? Will Vyse be able to keep his original body alive? ...And what about the current one? Slash pairing.
1. A Dark Discovery

A/N (Aroihkin's Notes) 12.08.2004 (revamp 01.15.2005):

Alternative Universe, potential slash pairing ahead--haven't really decided on that point just yet. Since I've, you know, -never- written a romance in my life. Tannusen's blatant man-whoring hardly counts.

This story picks up after you defeat Lord Galcian, and when a lot of people head for the Dark Rift to level up on Elcian. I've never done that, though I did fight him for kicks once, and if it doesn't make total sense for the characters to do, well, consider this mocking what some of us players make them go do. It did give me an idea, anyway. Or at least an idea of the means to do my idea--uh--you get the idea. Or something. I also made them fight Ramirez both optional times in this story, even though they weren't -_supposed-_ to.

It also always made me blink how Elcian was so HUGE in the Rift, but normal sized on the deck of your ship, so in this story he's perhaps a tad taller than the humans. Not as large as going halfway would be, but, intimidating anyway. He's likely to be in the story a few times, so, it's significant.

My first chapters of any story are always much shorter than the chapters afterwards, this one isn't an exception.

**05.02.2010: All scene-dividers have been eaten, again, on all of my stories. I give up. _Please_ just go read this story on arowrites dot net where it hasn't been made incoherent; I am unable to keep up with this site's stupidity.**

---- ----: -x- :---- ----  
Chapter One  
**A Dark Discovery**

The giant Black Looper seemed to be gravely assessing his options.

A glance was shot at Fina...

Another was aimed at Aika...

Finally, Elcian stared unblinkingly at Vyse, and the pirate gulped.

"What do you suppose he's -_doing_-?" he whispered aside to his companions, not taking his eyes off of the huge monster. They'd fought a long battle so far, and had come to a standstill for the moment; neither side seemingly wanting to do more than stare at the other. Elcian was absolutely massive for a Looper, and Aika was--quite frankly--wary that it would just bite Vyse's head off. She'd said as much upon spotting him, of course. Leave it to Aika to cook up some silly notion or other, but they'd decided to press onward into the Rift anyway.

Of course, that silly notion was looking more and more possible as the fight wore on...

Where the giant had come from was anyone's guess, it certainly hadn't been in their path when they'd gone through from the other side! Unless it had been hiding in a different chamber, perhaps. Vyse wasn't going to even consider that he knew the whole place, no, not by a long shot!

But the Blue Rogue himself had an idea, one he was absolutely certain (in that same head of his... chomp, chomp?) that needed investigation at the least. Now that he knew the Dark Rift could be navigated, that giant black stone needed to be looked at... -before- they faced Ramirez.

Ryu-kan had come along to look at it as well, at his request. Maybe... he could make a weapon of some sort from it? Assuming they could chip any off, if the weapon smith thought it was worth it to begin with. Because, well, quite frankly... the Silvite they were going to face had handed their asses to them twice now. Once in Nasrad and once on their own base... and at this point, Vyse would take all the help he could get.

They had rushed here with that idea in mind, and here is where they had met Elcian. So far, the giant Looper was--if not quite swabbing the deck of the Delphinus with them--then certainly coming close. All three of them were tired, bruised, and swiftly approaching exhaustion under the tide of the Looper's extensive arsenal of spells and attacks.

"I don't know, do you think we...?" Aika questioned, bringing Vyse out of his thoughts and biting her bottom lip. She edged closer to the Captain, daring to look away from the Looper and eye her companions in speculation. Well, fine, but... it wasn't _-staring at her-_ like it was him!

Shiver.

Vyse watched her out of the corner of his eye, though, his expression startlingly grim. They didn't have time for -_real_- caution, without knowing what Ramirez would do if left untroubled. But at the same time, it would sort of defeat the entire purpose of this side-trip to get their butts kicked by a Looper!

"You think we should charge?" he interpreted, thinking about it, "Fina, maybe if--"

--But at that moment, Elcian suddenly and without any warning spun upwards. Up, up, off of the deck of the Delphinus and... he was gone in an eyeblink. The tension of the situation vanished just as quickly, and Vyse's shoulders slumped as he quickly sheathed his blades.

"Damnit! Elcian _-got away-_!" Aika shouted in frustration, waving her boomerang wildly upwards and causing anyone in her area to, well, move. Fast. All of her caution had apparently dissolved the instant the thing was gone. Typical Aika.

"Yeah..." Vyse agreed solemnly, before immediately cheering up as the atmosphere lightened, "hey, that was still some great practice, though, wasn't it?"

Fina nodded in agreement, smiling at him as Cupil chirped and spun overhead, but Aika was having none of it.

"Practice?" Aika sputtered, disbelieving, as she lowered her weapon and gaped at him.

"-_Practice_-?! Vy-yse! He could have had -_treasure_-!" and now she advanced on him, causing Vyse to back up in alarm until he was out of space against the rail. The young Captain grinned sheepishly and raised both open hands in surrender, thankful that his cutlasses were already stowed back on his belt.

Thump, the redhead bopped him on the top of the head with one balled fist anyway.

"Geeze, Vyse, you gotta learn what's important in life!"

And Fina giggled quietly behind one hand.

"Well, maybe we can find him again later?" he said, rubbing the top of his head, "I still want to try and find that black rock again, anyway..."

Vyse had told the others, after Gilder had reminded him to prepare before charging in after Ramirez, about his ideas for the massive stone. Gut instinct, maybe, or perhaps just foolishness--but whichever it was, it hadn't led them wrong yet. No one could deny that the boulder had that odd -_feeling_- to it, though. Like it wasn't just an ordinary boulder... though that wasn't to say that anything was ever -_normal_-, per se, inside of the Dark Rift.

"Right, lets go!" the Captain added after a moment's thought, trying to sound cheerful instead of just nervous and tired as he led them off of the deck and back to the bridge.

* * *

It wasn't all that long before they found the massive chamber again...

Well, it was hard to tell -_how_- long it had been, exactly, but it hadn't -_felt_- like much time to Vyse. Not from his position at the wheel, staring intently through the Delphinus' giant windows.

And there, glowing eerily in the very center, was their target. Aika cheered enthusiastically behind him and immediately ran out of the bridge--words shouted over her shoulder that she was off to get Ryu-kan. Fina slowly approached the wheel... coming to a halt a few feet from Vyse to nervously watch his maneuvering.

If they were going to look at the rock up close enough to tell if it was of any help, they were going to have to get significantly closer to it than he'd dared go before. The chamber's eerie lack of wind eased his mind, now. At least this way they wouldn't get blown into it...

Curious he may be, but eager to have it punch holes in his ship he was not. Who knew how sharp it was, or what the glowing mass would do to the Valuan metal? The air pirate chewed lightly on his tongue as he inched the wheel left here... right there... and called out engine speeds.

("It's already on it's first notch." "Can you... um... do a half notch?" "...I'll try...")

"Lawrence, take the wheel?" Vyse asked after a tense, long maneuvering of the ship to get as close to the giant stone as he could without wrecking into it. "Just keep the ship here...?"

"..." the Helmsman in question silently pushed off of the wall he'd been leaning against, watching the proceedings, and took the wheel from the pirate. He didn't say a word, and to be honest, Vyse didn't expect him to. Smiling cheerfully at the Mercenary, Vyse gave him a thumbs-up.

"Thanks!" and off he went for the deck, Fina trailing apprehensively behind him.

"Where's Aika, anyway?" Vyse asked a scant second later, pausing at the bottom of the stairs with one boot on the first step and his hand on the rail. The Silvite, pausing also, opened her mouth to reply... but was cut off.

"We're up here, Vyse! Get your butt in gear!" Aika shouted from above, and Vyse's mouth opened momentarily in a silent "Oh." before he grinned.

"Well then, we better get up there before she comes after us!" he remarked loudly, much to Fina's amusement, before they climbed the stairs. Aika was in fact waiting for them, her fists planted on her hips and the elderly sword smith standing hunched next to her. She rolled her eyes at Vyse's comment, and made a face at him as they all left the ship proper, filing out onto the deck.

* * *

The trio had to pause and stare for a moment, even as Ryu-kan (apparently totally unfazed) brushed past them.

"It's... -_huge_-!" Vyse finally exclaimed, gaping, ever Mr. Obvious. That much had been evident through the windows of the ship, but, something about being out in the open air with it made it seem even bigger.

Still, Vyse had at least managed to get the Delphinus along side of it, close enough to touch over the rail. Before the others could stop him, the Captain himself--overcome by that gut instinct of his--approached. One foot in front of the other, even as Aika opened her mouth to protest. He was quickly at the rail, and, grasping the metal with one hand... he reached out...

It was barely a graze of his finger-tips, a mere whisper of contact, and something seemed to catch him in it's grasp. Examining, curious, potentially dangerous and potentially helpful. Neutrality, above all.

Vyse felt the tinniest burst of hope at that the second feeling, maybe it would help them after all! Maybe it would... something seemed to be moving up his arm, invisible, and he couldn't move to stop it. It felt... wet, warm. Like blood, but it didn't quite scare him, and didn't quite creep him out.

"Please, will you help us?" he started, "We have to defeat..."

**((Who is your enemy?))**

It wasn't words, it wasn't anything Vyse could readily describe. The presence like thick, warm liquid moved off of his arm and up his shoulder. Within moments he could never describe, it had pooled inside his mind. Somehow, even this still didn't quite alarm him... instead he found himself standing, teetering, on the edge of that reaction.

**((Ramirez)) **he felt his subconscious reply in kind, not knowing how, **((Ramirez is my enemy.))**

**((Why?))**

That foreign, calming warmth spread out slightly, coating his mind in it's existence. It didn't want to harm him. Not certain how he knew this, the Pirate moved his hand over the jagged stone without meaning to, curiosity evident to the others in his expression.

It felt almost spongy to him, rather than sharp like he'd expected, although it didn't have any give to it. Unbeknownst to him, his fingertips were now bleeding slowly, cut minorly against the rock despite it's soft feel.

**((He wants to destroy everything))** his mind seemed to reply, distracted, but accompanied in a pulse of blurry images and emotions,** ((everything I love.))**

**((Why?))**

**((I...)) **at this question, even Vyse's subconscious had to pause for a moment, and then--**((I suppose he doesn't even know.))**

The memories of the conversations with Doc, the room they had found on the Silver Shrine that had been Ramirez's. Fina's explanations of the things found inside. Bursts of Pirate Isle, of learning to sail. Dreaming about what lay beyond the sunset, of friends and adventure and treasure... it all poured fourth much too fast for him to pick out individual memories. The emotions attached to each seemed to remain intact, however, and he knew the presence understood it all. Especially including his doubts about his enemy, who had apparently been so much like him at one time. No, Ramirez -_didn't_- know, that was as clear to him as the lens strapped over his eye.

**((He doesn't know.))** the Pirate's mind repeated, with more force this time, for a lack of anything else to say after the throb of information had settled back down. If long gaps of silence were awkward in conversations out loud, it was even worse in a conversation between minds. Without the ripples on the surface...

Vyse felt sleepy, almost lethargic.

It seemed to hit all at once, and his eyes sagged shut. The pirate dropped backwards... seemingly as slow as though he fell through water... to impact with the deck of the Delphinus.

Still, he didn't feel any discomfort. It was almost like he was... detached, unfastened from his body and yet still inside his head.

**((He doesn't know.))** Vyse repeated yet again, weakly this time. His clouding brown eyes slid back open as Fina and Aika rushed to his sides, and Aika's mouth was moving rapidly, like she was shouting. But he couldn't hear her words, and Fina's hands were clutched to her chest in obvious concern as she came to kneel beside him, lifting his head in her hands.

It was very odd, not being able to feel her hands under his skull. Not even the pressure of her fingers seemed to register, though he knew they must be there. Something about it all seemed absurd, all of a sudden, and he would have giggled (alarmingly, probably) if his body had been responding at all.

**((He will.))** the presence replied after seemingly forever and a half, and then it... -_clenched_- around his mind. This, he definitely felt.

Vyse's world exploded into fiery red and white light as his consciousness slipped away, spiraling, screaming without a voice.

--and when he opened his eyes and lifted his head, he was greeted with a most strange point of view... it was as though a glass lens covered one eye. Immediately overcome with confusion, he quickly closed his eyes and allowed his head to drop back onto the... it felt like a pillow? beneath it.

"Oh, thank the moons you're awake!" a familiar voice exclaimed from beside him, and he again snapped his eyes open, this time looking for the source of the sound.

"...Fina?"

"You just rest, Vyse, I'll go tell the others!" she smiled down at him with pure happiness shining in her green eyes. She clasped her hands together as was her habit, before turning in the flutter of a veil and running from the room...

Wait, what?!

Lifting one hand, he took in the color of his sleeve, the lack of a glove. Both hands suddenly darted to his face as he sat up, feeling sharp but unfamiliar features, the silky-smooth line of scar-tissue beneath one eye, the lens strapped firmly over the other...

Oh Moons, no! How?

How had this happened? How was this even possible?

What form of cruel fate was THIS?! It was a joke, right? Some sort of sick joke?

Ramirez groaned in sudden anguish, hands falling away. Even that sound was vibrated through strange vocal chords, and came out sounding alien to his ears. There was no way this was possible, no way at all. His already grief-stricken mind tried to understand what had happened...

...and balked formidably.

Eyes rolling upwards, the new Captain of the Delphinus and Hero-Legend of Arcadia fell back onto the cot once more, this time in a dead faint.

---- ----: -x- :---- ----  
Skies of Arcadia Legends © someone else.  
All here that is _not _found in the game... is mine.  
Never steal if you value your spleen.

Reviews are lovely, reviews make the Aro happy, and a happy Aro is more inspired to write.

However, they are not absolutely required, and flames will result in a very annoyed Aro. I'm not forcing you to read my stuff, you must realize. So I've no sympathy for you if you read it, hate it, and yet can't keep your pointer off the review button.

Constructive criticism is awesome, mind, but I can tell thinly-veiled sarcasm when I see it.

And yeah, I know, Black Moon, over done, yadda yadda yadda. I said I wouldn't do anything with it unless I thought of something nice and unique to the fandom, so, "nyaaaaaaaaaa" to you too. ;)

Chapter revamped 01.15.2005.  
3 Myaku and I-chan for the concrit.  
I knew it needed revamping, but, I needed a poke or two to actually go -_do-_ it. :3

I might still touch up a spot or two, but, it has some polish to it now, at least.


	2. A Void Me

A/N (Aroihkin's Notes) 12.27.2005:

Review replies beneath the chapter, like usual. I was rather pleasantly surprised at the number... six on the first chapter of a new SoA fic doesn't seem to be a standard. :D

So, thanks guys!

Now, beneath the _review replies_, is something totally new to any fanfic by me. Yeah, song lyrics. I've posted one or two lines on some of the Bloodstained Steel revamps, but never a full meal deal. It's half amusing, half squicky, so it's down there out of the way. :) Whenever this fanfic picks up a "soundtrack song"... something that just fits it _that well_, I'll do this. Certainly not an every-chapter deal. Coincidentally, the song at the bottom fits chapters one and two perfectly, even though I didn't make the connection until after the fact. I never have based a fanfic or chapter after a song, but, sometimes they just pop up later and _cling_ anyway.

**05.02.2010: All scene-dividers have been eaten, again, on all of my stories. I give up. _Please_ just go read this story on arowrites dot net where it hasn't been made incoherent; I am unable to keep up with this site's stupidity.**

---- ----: -x- :---- ----  
Chapter Two  
**A Void (Me)**

He . . . was . . . submerged . . .

The thought hit him slowly, lapping at his mind like the small ripples at the edge of a pond. It was almost visible, tangible, like he could reach out with his hands and tangle his fingers in just this one realization. He was , in fact, so caught up in this sensation that at first he didn't even comprehend what he was submerged -_in_-.

/ _Blood._ /

But was it? It was... white, shot through with red and edged with black. Warm, solid and yet not. Something... an invisible rope that felt like it was attached to his very spine was pulling him through head first. The white blood--for lack of a better word--was glowing, almost blinding. He had to squint against it for more reasons than it's solid-yet-not thickness, and yet still, he was being pulled through. Slowly and carefully as though the line would break if too much haste was used...

His thoughts. They were focusing strangely, taking on a strength that was impossible.

This was not to say that Vyse was stupid, but simply that his thoughts had never held such focus before. Such _-presence-_ that they almost hurt, for they bordered on being considered physical.

The pulling continued, constant, an unrelenting. He found that the only way to tell he was moving at all was by the feeling of the blood. Or, come to think of it, maybe he was being held in place while the stuff itself moved? He wasn't certain. All he was sure of, and very strongly so, was that he most certainly -_didn't-_ want the rope to break. If it did, he'd be stuck here in limbo, probably until the end of the world.

Limbo. That was a very good name for it, although he wasn't certain where the word had come from. It certainly suited it better than 'glowing white blood stuff'...

Even if it -_did_- feel alive...

A while passed.

How long, he could not tell. This void, silver-white, and red, and black... it seemed even more timeless than the Dark Rift itself could possibly hope to manage. And now, somewhere between -_here_- and -_there_-, wherever either was, another form grew visible.

It was a dark, murky shape barely perceptible through the blinding white, and it was growing larger. Whatever it was, it was growing quickly enough that it had to be moving towards him, even as he moved towards it. Just as slowly as ever, the rope drew him forward, and Vyse felt briefly annoyed at the blinding white. His eyes couldn't seem to get accustomed to it at all, and as a result, he couldn't figure out what it was in front of him...

Though he certainly tried.

Vyse was suddenly overcome with the hope that it was another -_person-_. Someone else in this giant ocean of blood... perhaps even someone who knew what was going on. He began to wave his arms frantically, completely forgetting his previous thoughts and caution.

What if the invisible rope snapped? Vyse found he didn't have the energy to spare in caring, all of it had grown focused on one goal. The desire to see another human face was overpowering and sudden. It seemed to take control of his mind, and yet... frustratingly... the rope was still barely moving. And now he was trying to speed the rope up, like swimming.

But it was having absolutely no effect.

The back of his hand grazed something solid where there was nothing, and Vyse paused, frozen. He considered it for a moment, glancing ahead at the frustratingly-far shape, before his resolve set itself. Screw it, if he was going to get stuck, he was going to know what that was first!

Driven to irrationality by the potency of the smallest of these thoughts, he now searched the area with both hands. Above and forward, ignoring that his eyes could only see white where the solid had been, and...

_/ There._ /

Either he grabbed it, or it grabbed him... Vyse would never be certain. All he knew was that one moment his hands were finding nothing but the void, and the next he was pulling himself along a thick, invisible cord. Hand over hand... he could feel the slack gathering behind him, heavy, as he pulled himself along the only possible course.

If forward was the only way to travel, then, that's where he would go... but at a run, not a crawl.

The figure was only just now was taking on a humanoid form to his eyes. Vyse opened his mouth to shout at it, still climbing, but no sound emerged. He tried again, and again... nothing was heard.

Giving up on that plan, the pirate simply put more effort into his climbing. Hand over hand, the slack behind him was growing heavier as he went. But at the same time, the figure was getting gradually closer. The dark vagueness of distance was giving way, slowly, to a pale form in even paler clothing.

/ _Is it... Fina?_ /

Vyse couldn't tell for certain, even as he continued to climb and the slack continued to gather. Now it was just visible enough to distinguish white cloth from white skin, and white hair from both, but that told him little. There was red, too, for some reason... just like the streaks of scarlet scattered with black throughout the white.

It seemed, now that he could see more of it, to be a part of the surroundings. Or perhaps the surrounds were a part of the stranger.

His morale rising, Vyse hoped that maybe he -_could_- find out what was going on from whoever it was. Maybe he could even find out how to wake up from this... dream. It had to be a dream, or a nightmare... or perhaps a bit of both. Regardless, he was tired of it, it was really creeping him out, and it was past time to leave...

Closer and closer, he climbed, his eyes fixed steadily on his goal, even while still trying to adjust to the impossible brightness. The form was splattered in that red that had been faint before, each sizeable red speck centered with barely-visible black. Even from this distance, it looked like (and Vyse felt sick at this thought) decay. Whoever or whatever it was, it was face down in comparison to himself, with no ground to base up and down off of.

And it's hair hid it's face, but it -_looked_- like it was a Silvite, whether it was Fina or not...

/ _I hope it's not._ /

Where had that thought come from? Fina was at least a familiar face, in this horrid place! But, the form... Vyse swallowed weakly. It's skin had a greyish tinge, even in this light, and the pirate suddenly felt in his gut that he was climbing towards a dead body.

Now he hesitated, not wanting to see who it was, deeply afraid that he was about to see one of his best friends in this place. Dead. It was a cold word, fueled by his thoughts and fears, and he shivered from his place grasping the invisible rope.

But what choice did he have? If he let go, the slack would eventually pick him up again. And even if it didn't, the... the person was being pulled towards him as well, on a collision course. There was no way to move around it, no way to steer aside, as this white void ignored any efforts to move one's self. The body was limp at the end of it's own invisible rope, growing more visible, rocking slightly from left to right like a boat near a rift. It seemed to be flowing straight backwards, just as Vyse had before he'd started climbing, for there was no real gravity here.

Vyse fought down his revulsion as he watched the white form. He was amazed to find that whatever force had driven him this far had apparently released him, and logic was trying to reassert itself. The pirate grimly considered his choices, and found they only boiled down to two things. He could face the body now, or he could face the body later. Perhaps he would just climb past it and continue onward without looking...

Even as he considered the idea, he resumed climbing. Hand over hand, closer, closer. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't wrench his eyes away from what he was convinced to be dead. Morbid fascination? Lack of anything else to look at? Both? Vyse chewed lightly on his tongue and tried not to think about it.

But it didn't work.

/ _Oh, Moons... it has her tattoos..._ /

Perhaps twenty feet away now, Vyse stopped climbing again and let the two ropes' slow progress do the work as he hung on. It had Fina's tattoos, he could see one on the body's ashen left shoulder. The other was covered in red and black, but, it was very likely there. Could it be... was it... how could it possibly...

/ _Please, no._ /

But the shoulders themselves were all wrong, now that he looked at them properly. And while the angle wasn't right for him to tell, it didn't -_seem_- female. Even dead, it had the wrong atmosphere around it, the wrong aura, the wrong presence in general to be anything like Fina. The build was just as thin as Vyse had expected, but more... like a fighter.

In fact, and he was certain of this now, this... was a Silvite warrior. It had to be, though the only metal he could see on it (and barely, at that, with this angle) were those same sorts of silver armbands Fina always wore. No sword, no cupil-creature, no weapon of any sort. An unarmed warrior from the lost civilization.

Whatever it was about this place that had made his thoughts so intense before, it had taken hold again without warning. The pirate was suddenly overcome by curiosity. It overpowered both his nausea, and his hesitation, so strong as to be painful were he not to obey.

So before he knew what he was doing, he'd climbed to within a scant five feet of the body, and then...

And then Vyse straightened, and let go of his rope.

The realization of what he'd just done hit him like a small island. Why hadn't he just kept climbing? What was it about this Silvite that was drawing him in? He was sure of it now, the body slowly closing the distance was the focus of this place... it had to be. And the ropes? Well, even if he'd let go of his, it was still attached, the slack slowly catching up now that he'd stopped moving.

But unless he wanted to scramble around to find it again, he was stuck directly in the body's path. Of course, by the time Vyse would be able to find it again, anyway, the morbid form would have run into him...

He entertained the idea of finding the stranger's rope and climbing away from it, he somehow knew it wouldn't work that way. From where he was hovering now, the body's rope would be passing -_through_- him, so it obviously wasn't solid to his touch.

And so the pirate did the only thing he -_could_- do, now. He waited, and watched.

Vyse was going to get rammed by a slow-moving corpse in the middle of bright nothingness, he knew this. If he couldn't avoid that disgusting event, then he'd rather see it coming. Even if it -_did_- make his skin crawl, and his stomach churn, to watch it approach...

So he stared at the top of the head, the shoulders, the small bits of metal just visible around the biceps.

The red stains... they were blood, they had to be. They were too disturbing to concentrate on for long, but they drew his attention anyway, just like everything else in the godforsaken place that he'd tried to ignore. It -_was_- blood, there was no doubt of it now, and there was the black he'd noticed before...

Now it was almost on top of him, even as the slack from his own rope slowly caught up.

Vyse reached out without thinking of the consequences, and put his hands on the cold, pale shoulders. One was bloodied and rotten, and the pirate shuddered, feeling unbelievably sick as the blackened tissue gave way under his palm until his hand met bone. Moons, he was going to be -_sick_-...

But... he couldn't let go.

If he did, the body would surely brush him aside at it's slow pace, and that was far too much contact with dead flesh for him to handle. So Vyse stared blankly into the silver-blond hair, at the back of the ashen neck, and tried desperately to ignore it all. Ignore how clammy and loose the body's bare left shoulder felt under his hand, the muscle there relaxed without life. He tried futilely to disregard the way it felt like it was only half solid, held in place solely by the skin.

But he especially tried to ignore the -_other_- shoulder. The sharpness of bone and slime of decomposed flesh... the slickness of coagulated blood... jellied, cold...

The bile was rising swiftly in Vyse's throat, and he shut his eyes and turned his head momentarily aside. But that didn't help, it only made the sensations from his hands all the more clear as the body's rope pulled them along. The eerie brightness of this dark place pierced his eyelids, making it all the more impossible to forget where he was.

And the head, merely a half foot in front of his, slowly lifted. The timing was just -_so_-, so that when the pirate re-opened his eyes, he found himself staring directly into the face of...

Directly at...

Vyse choked.

The eyes were wide open, like a frightened animal, and the shields one would normally expect to find there were completely absent. Agony and despair of the mind and heart, deeply cut, gleamed dully from their jade green depths. These wrenching emotions were as clear as day, even if the reasons remained entirely unfathomable to the pirate.

But most disturbingly of all, overlaying this shock in the here and now, was that the body was -_alive_-. Alive but dead, dead but alive. It made his stomach churn all over again, and his head reel, even as shock wrapped firmly around his throat. No flames reflected here, this time, only Vyse's own surprised features surrounded by blinding light.

Un-gloved hands, slick with fresh blood coated upon old, found Vyse's biceps and clenched forcefully. The fingers, whole and healthy beneath coats upon coats of gore, dug sharply into the pirate's muscle, strangely desperate. Sudden pain in the middle of all this nothing almost knocked Vyse out of his stunned state, but not quite. He simply shivered and stared.

Stared, horrified, into the eyes of the dead-but-not warrior, firmly transfixed. He was morbidly and thoroughly fascinated by the darkness of the situation, despite himself, like watching a shipwreck burst into flames.

"What are you doing here?" the Silvite warrior rasped, audible, after seemingly forever. His face was, at least, alive... if streaked with bloodied tears.

The pirate worked his jaw, trying again to speak, but nothing came out... not so much as a hiss. He rather felt like this was a good thing, because otherwise he would surely be jabbering. Speaking gibberish that would somehow demean this entire situation. Reduce it to being ridiculous.

"You shouldn't... be here..." Ramirez continued after a long moment of this, eyes growing unfocused, now seeming to stare -_through_- Vyse rather than at him. And here, it wasn't as though the Silvite had something else to stare at. No, it was more that he hadn't the energy to maintain his stare, as if Vyse's form was far too tiring to watch.

Meanwhile, the rope continued to catch up... and Vyse continued to not care. He was shocked, dismayed, surprised, and oddly glad all at once. Shock, that it was Ramirez, floating in this void. Dismay at the state the Admiral was in, even though he was technically his enemy. Surprised... surprised because the swordsman was -_alive_-, despite all signs otherwise. Despite how dead he looked and felt, there was no doubt that he was in fact still... alive.

Glad, because at least this was someone he knew... kind of.

But, Moons, what was this place? Why was Ramirez here? More to the point, why was Vyse here at all? He couldn't even remember, just now, even reaching the Dark Rift. It was as though a dark cloud obscured the very recent, giving him just enough glimpses to know something was on the other side.

He considered it, thoughts focusing and hands tightening unconsciously on the silent Admiral's shoulders.

And that was when the rope caught up.

Oh, but to say that it simply -_caught up_- was laughable. No, as the slack began to vanish entirely from his own, Vyse found himself staring at a thick, black, segmented -_thing_- over Ramirez's shoulder.

They were at such an angle from one another, almost ninety degrees, themselves, that he could see as it slowly grew materialized into visibility. It was raising, rearing up even as it continued to pull them along, so that it was becoming perpendicular to the warrior's back. The term -_rope_- did it a disfavor, now that he could see it... and it was living, seeming to simply exist -_through_- the Silvite's clothing.

It was split, however...

Split. For some reason, the term disturbed him. But there it was.

This whole thing played out as though time had slowed down, purposefully giving him the leisure to look. The chance to see how the threads of the rope--each thicker than his thumb, connected down into the Silvite. Or perhaps it was the intensity of this place again, playing tricks with his thoughts.

A glance to the Admiral's face showed that he was just as surprised at this new development as Vyse was, however. Green eyes stared across the Blue Rogue's shoulder, examining, curious. The pirate was unexplainably embarrassed, suddenly, on top of all his confusion and incomprehension. For some reason, having these lines visible was like walking around without clothing.

But that was driven firmly from his mind, because suddenly the lines began to... detach.

One . thread . at . a . time . . .

He could -_feel_- them snapping away. Even as both ropes--following that same, steady course and speed--began to pull the two apart from one another. They were most certainly letting go, and, that was frightening.

Vyse gripped the dead shoulders tighter by reflex, and felt Ramirez's hands tighten on his arms... but it was no good. They were peeled away even as the lines snapped, whipping through the bright nothingness like metal Valuan cables. It would have been pretty, or at least fascinating, if it wasn't so terrifying.

He was going to be stuck here... stuck in this horrible place without feeling or voice.

Stuck... but, no... not today.

When but -_one_- of his threads remained connected, and likewise with Ramirez, their ropes suddenly attacked.

The Silvite's threads raced for the pirate, nearly screaming with speed and Vyse threw his arms up in a futile defense, reflexively trying to yell. He heard the other shout hoarsely, the Blue Rogue's own lines lunging as well...

And then they connected with his back, with solid, almost-audible thumps. It felt not unlike being hit by arrows would, only without actual pain. Vyse opened his eyes, unaware that he'd even closed them, and lowered his arms from his face.

What had that -_been_-?

It felt like... like the ropes had switched people, except... they'd left a thread...

And that was when he noticed that he was looking at -_himself_-, staring numbly back.

The ropes, now invisible again, jerked backwards. The two confused men were drug out of sight of one another in an eyeblink, a sharp contrast to the slowness of movement before.

But before Vyse could really process what this meant...

* * *

He woke up in a single lurching moment, gasping, his face half pressed into the floor. A sense of urgency permeated his senses, shoving his puzzlement of waking up this way firmly out of his mind.

With a pained groan, Vyse rolled onto his back and opened his eyes, fully expecting to see the Dark Rift, or the ceiling of his cabin. Depending how long he'd been out and what had happened...

Sucking in a breath, the pirate raised his right arm to shield his eyes, something glowing far too brightly above him. In fact, now that he could see it through his squinting eyes and from the shadow of his arm, it was far too -_big_- as well.

And close.

And... the hair on the back of his neck stood up.

"Z-Zelos?!" Vyse gasped, voice sounding strange as he dropped his arm to scramble backwards, shaking violently. The Silver Gigas lifted slightly, still a mere ten or so feet up from the floor, and seemed to regard him curiously.

You're not what you're supposed to be, it seemed to be thinking, but... no matter...

---- ----: -x- :---- ----  
Skies of Arcadia Legends © someone else.  
All here that is _not_ found in the game... is mine.  
Except the lyrics at the very bottom. They're not mine.  
Never steal if you value your spleen.

Reviews are lovely, reviews make the Aro happy, and a happy Aro is more inspired to write.

However, they are not absolutely required, and flames will result in a very annoyed Aro. I'm not forcing you to read my stuff, you must realize. So I've no sympathy for you if you read it, hate it, and yet can't keep your pointer off the review button.

Constructive criticism is awesome, mind, but I can tell thinly-veiled sarcasm when I see it.

**Myaku:** Thanks! I touched up chapter one, thanks to you and Ianthe poking at me. :D  
I really appreciated it, though, your concrit just rocked! Thanks for the review!

**motosada:** Ew, Freaky Friday. We shan't talk of this again. (Having flashbacks from working in Disney while that _thing_'s previews played every ten minutes. Shudder.)  
Yeah, leave it to you to bring up something I'm trying to forget. ;)

**I-chan:** Yeah, I like to mock the things people do in games that make little sense ICly. This would be one of those times. XD  
As you already know from talking to me off-fic, I revamped 01 and am happy for the concrit. :)

**ShadowWolf97:** Yeah, body-swapping's been done in every fandom across the known universe.  
But I'd hate for SoA to feel left out! XD

**George the Unlucky Stickman:** :D Glad you like it so far, thanks for the review!

**Leland Lancaster:** Is it overly sad that this is a _light_ fic? ;)

---- ----: -x- :---- ----  
Jewel - Amen

You're mothers' child, but night lays you down.  
Hair aflame, wild look in your eyes, naked belly to the ground.  
A forest fire nibbles at your veins, crawls up your arm, runs away with your mind.  
And burns dry thoughts like leaves.  
Amen  
Eyes stare up, but something's in the way...  
In the Bible only angels have wings, and the rest must wait to be saved.  
A dry tongue screams at the sky,  
But the wind just breathes words in, as a strange bird tries to fly.  
Amen  
Pieces of us die everyday, as though our flesh were hell...  
Such injustice, as children we are told that from God we fell.  
Where are my angels? Where's my golden one? Where is my hope now that my heroes have gone?  
Some are being beaten, some are being born. And some- can't- tell- the- difference anymore...  
Amen  
Hallelujah... Hallelujah... Hallelujah... Hallelujah...


	3. Delusional Illusion

A/N (Aroihkin's Notes) 04.10.2005:

Review-replies at the bottom, like always. Not much to note, here, except that I am--as usual--fairly displeased with the chapter. But that's what happens when you re-read it too much as you write it, heh, so there's a possibility of a re-polish later.

I know I update slowly, kids. I also work full-time for Home Depot, RP on VideoLand MUSH as Ramirez, and juggle about a dozen different stories. So yeah, it goes slow sometimes when I'm determined to go for quality over speed. :)

As a result, the end product will rock. Hopefully. It'll just take a while to -_get_- there.

**05.02.2010: All scene-dividers have been eaten, again, on all of my stories. I give up. _Please_ just go read this story on arowrites dot net where it hasn't been made incoherent; I am unable to keep up with this site's stupidity.**

---- ----: -x- :---- ----  
Chapter Three  
**Delusional Illusion**

Ramirez had always been the sort to wake in one heaving, crashing moment. His thoughts... so fragmented in sleep, rushed toward one another in a single heartbeat, and his eyes snapped open. The steel plates and rivets of a Valuan ship cabin ceiling was to be expected, but...

...but, the many concerned faces hovering mere feet above his head were -_not_- expected at all. The Admiral flinched, pressing his head back more firmly against the cot, fists and teeth clenching by reflex. Were they -_mad_-! He should kill them all, right here, on principal. He would begin his vengeance of Lord Galcian's death by -_hand_- if he had to.

Ramirez would personally snap every single human neck on Arcadia if that's what it took! But... but... no.

No.

He was a master tactician, ruthless... but never rash. If he acted in haste now, if he allowed his grief to overpower his reasoning, he would fail his Lord. Fail him most miserably, tarnish the truth of all the man had taught him, the only truth there was...

/ _I **won't** allow that, no more than he would._ /

Slow inhale, an even slower exhale, and for the first time since reawakening, Ramirez blinked.

The Silvite was always aware of himself when he awoke, his immediate memories sharp. He remembered now, in the moment that his mind had gathered, that he'd somehow been changed in appearance into Vyse. There was no second wave of confusion after the first, that was just the way it was.

An Admiral could not afford to be dull-minded upon waking... especially in an emergency. If this... situation was not an emergency, well, he'd personally scrub the Monoceros' deck with a toothbrush.

"...and he appears to be delusional." a quiet, familiar voice reached him, and Ramirez turned his head to look past the forms hovering immediately around and over him. White, thread-bare jacket and the remains of a familiar uniform. Doc. Of all the people to have look him over...

"...I think we need to take him back to Crescent Isle."

"No." Ramirez interrupted them suddenly, trying not to notice the strangeness of his voice. "We must hurry to Soltis."

If he had somehow been put into Vyse's body, it stood to some reason that Vyse would either be in his... or that he was finally dead. Either way, Ramirez may still be able to use the Crystal...

His mind seemed to be spinning even faster than usual to come up with a plan. Fueled by desperation, most probably, and that meant he'd need to reconsider it more carefully later. But right now, it was at least something to aim for. Better to aim at gut instinct than stand indecisive.

If his true form was dead, he reasoned, and Zelos had not yet claimed it, he would grab the Crystal and use it to command the Gigas. Cut it out of his proper body, if it hadn't yet become dust for whatever reason... who knew how it would work without a Silvite's soul flickering to a stop within?

Perhaps the body would simply rot, like a mere human's. The mental image the thought summoned had his body heaving without result a few seconds later, alien fingers grasping the side of the cot where he leaned over. Wonderful, apparently whatever had been done to him had left him with the air-pirate's inexperience with death. What his mind knew and accepted, the rest couldn't yet handle... his stomach lurched, and someone dared put a 'comforting' hand on his back.

/ _Not for long. It will all be over soon._ / Ramirez sank back onto the cot with Fina's urging, and closed his eyes a moment. They were so close, so damnably close, those who had helped kill his Lord, his only hope. And yet the brunt of the trauma to his mind had faded while unconscious, and it felt as though the sorrow had been... left behind. Displaced. He was too clear-headed, too understanding of the situation...

Honestly, that was already starting to scare him. Or at least, it was unsettling. His stubborn, Silvite mind had clearly decided to plant its feet, draw its sword, and sit in soldier-mode until the rest of him caught up.

/ _Surely, they will take me to Soltis._ / the pirates hadn't argued, anyway, that he'd heard. / _They believe I am their illustrious leader... surely they will obey... _/

Deep breath, let out in a slightly-relieved sigh as sleep claimed him again.

Oh, if only he knew.

* * *

His eyes didn't want to open.

He made them open anyway, the crusted lids peeling apart under the force of his will, his breath hissing inwards and teeth clenching at the pain of too much light too fast.

Perhaps they had the right idea after all... Ramirez clenched them shut again. How bothersome.

"Hey, I saw that!" someone exclaimed, and the Admiral cautiously re-opened one eye just enough to see the owner of the obnoxiously loud voice. The redhead with the braids, wonderful. She had always struck him, in their few encounters, as the more annoying of the group. Never mind the traitorous Fina, the moronic Vyse, no... -_this_- one needed to be killed on principal--if for none of the other numerous and valid reasons. He wasn't sure what exactly annoyed him so much, but, she grated on his carefully-smoothed nerves regardless.

And she was talking to him, he'd just woken back up, and... he didn't even know her blasted name. This wouldn't do, if he was to keep his movements unhindered by continuing the facade pressed onto him.

So he did the most childish thing that came to mind.

Ramirez shut his eye, and feigned sleep.

"Oh." the sound was barely a breath from the door, disappointed and quiet, but he knew who that was. "Did he wake?"

"Aah, for a moment." then, in a tone that made him instinctually want to sit upright and glare, to foil whatever was planned, "Come on Fina, I've got an idea."

Footsteps, both women left the room. Ramirez continued his slow, steady breathing, despite having that -_feeling_- between the shoulder-blades. That one he associated with having a gun pointed at him, the bearer squeezing the trigger...

"Pow! POW!"

**-THUMP-**

Yelping in surprise, the Admiral sat bolt upright and stared disbelieving at the object that had landed on him. Purple and white fur, big eyes, wagging tail.

"Pow!" it barked again, looking far too pleased to be here. Ramirez turned his shocked stare towards the two laughing girls in the doorway, the redhead nearly bent-over in mirth and Fina giggling behind her hand.

"You sh..." was choked out between laughs, "should kno... know better by... now, Vyse!"

"That was so mean, Aika!" Fina still giggled anyway.

"But funny!"

"But funny." the blonde lady agreed.

/ _And now I know your name, pest._ / Ramirez thought triumphantly, and the odd glint to his borrowed brown eyes made the two pause.

"Are you feeling better now, Vyse?" Fina sounded (and looked) entirely unsure now, and more than a little concerned. For the air pirate, the thief. Feh.

"Not particularly." Ramirez said, not caring if what would be deadpan from his own throat came out -_sulky_- from this one. Still, he found his hand was scratching the animal behind the ears, which it was leaning into to the point of almost tipping over.

"You sure are acting weird." Aika observed. Surely, she was the pirate queen of the vague and tactful. Ramirez mentally snorted.

"Where are we, currently?" the Admiral asked, brushing aside her statement with... apparently... an alien ease. Something Vyse had never learned to do, apparently, and more foolish he.

"Just approaching Crescent Isle. Vyse, you better tell me what's up with you, and pronto! What did that rock -_do_- to you?"

"Crescent Isle?" Ramirez rubbed his forehead, or... at least... he started to until he encountered the strap crossing it. Thus reminded, he dropped his hand back down. Wonderful, he was getting a headache, and apparently the pirates didn't know what -_listening to orders_- entailed. Just fucking wonderful, this would be worse than a ship full of fresh cadets.

"Vy-yse, I'm warning you!" Aika advanced in what, he supposed, was supposed to be a threatening manner. He didn't flinch, instead he reached back up and pulled the hated lens off of his head, dropping it nonchalantly on the cot for the Huskra to investigate.

"I don't know what it did." he answered truthfully, "I don't feel like myself, and I won't until we at least reach Soltis... if even then."

"Like -_hell_-, Vyse. You're not fighting that lunatic until we're at least sure you're not sick."

Moons, did she ever stop? And Fina... she was staying well out of this, he noticed, though she still stood in the doorway.

"As you wish." Ramirez conceded, bitterly. There was no way he'd out-stubborn her when he didn't even know what was going on... what was the rock that she'd mentioned? Had it been the thing to make this unexpected and unexplained switch? At least his own ignorance gave him an excuse for anything he did... out of character. A few battles and second-hand accounts did not an imitator make, there was no way he'd be able to completely fake the personality of this most infuriating stranger.

Blasted air pirate couldn't even keep his own crew in line, that much was clear. How utterly incompetent. And yet, this band of criminals had escaped Valua twice, kidnaped and brainwashed the crowned Prince, gathered the Moon Crystals, -_and_- they had beaten Lord Galcian. That last bit made his blood pound harder in his borrowed veins, and his gaze narrow, but he held it down. -_Ramirez_- was not an undisciplined air pirate, he was an Admiral of Lord Galcian's Armada, a Silvite warrior, and he -_would_- resist decapitating the lot of them.

At least until Soltis.

"Well... uh..." Aika started, taken aback by her childhood friend's strange behavior, "we'll meet you on the bridge. Come on, Fina!"

"Pow! Pow!" the Huskra scrambled off the cot and followed the two girls out of the cabin, leaving the lens on the covers.

Ramirez sighed, shutting his eyes a moment to steel himself against the rest of the day. Just getting to the bridge was likely to be an ordeal, and he forced himself to -_accept_- as much, even as he swung his legs--one at a time--over the side of the cot from under the cover, so that he now sat on the edge.

/ _Right, then._ /

Picking up the leather and glass device still laying on the bed, Ramirez opened his eyes and--slowly--stood up. This felt extremely odd, as though his brain hadn't yet fully settled into the controls of the body, but other than that it went without issue. He slowly looked around the room, and, spying an empty shelf, moved to place the lense there. He would not wear it unless he absolutely had to, but, at the same time he couldn't just leave it laying around.

Perhaps he was a bit of a neat freak, perhaps it was the military training, or perhaps it was both combined with procrastination... but Ramirez even went so far as to make the bed. Finally, he was faced with only one remaining task before he'd have to find the bridge, and he lifted his enemy's sword-belt from where it hung over the back of the room's only chair. This part felt -_wrong_-, more so than anything else so far, but he buckled the wide belt around his borrowed waist anyway.

It was strange, having two swords on him. Two swords that had clashed with Lord Galcian's, that had clashed with -_his_-, that had sought his own blood and felled so many Valuans. Keeping in mind that they were supposed to be nothing out of the ordinary to him, Ramirez quelled his hesitation and drew the main blade, eyeing its moonstone edge critically. How ironic it would be, when this sword bit into the necks and backs of the air pirates, severing their arteries and spilling their life's blood. Would he even tell them that he was not Vyse? Probably not, no, let them go to hell with the bitter taste of betrayal on their lips.

The foul creatures deserved it.

He returned the blade to its sheath and left the room. Here, at least, he knew where he was going... this was a Valuan Flagship, after all, and the Delphinus besides. The very prototype that his own Monoceros had been modeled after.

Ramirez reached the bridge without incident, though he received many strange looks from passing crew-members. Opening the door to the too-decorative chamber, the 'Captain' entered without pause, and moved to stand behind the silent helmsman. Ramirez never sat in the chair reserved for him on the Monoceros, but at the same time, he never piloted the massive Flagship either. As interested as he had always been in ships and sailing, though he told himself that interest was long since passed, he hadn't a clue as to how to actually guide the machine. Therefore, it was always Vice-Captain Serak, or -_his_- reserve Helmsman, who stood at the wheel of the Monoceros.

But apparently that wasn't how things were done here.

"We're nearly within sight of Crescent Isle, Captain. Do you want the wheel?"

The Silvite managed to not blink, simply shaking his head in reply. The Helmsman wanted him to guide a Flagship into that underground dock that he'd heard reports of? That wasn't going to happen... Ramirez needed this ship in one piece to bear him to Soltis, not docked for weeks in repairs because 'Captain Vyse' had scraped it against the island or rammed it into the dock. And if his refusal to take the wheel earned him more strange looks from everyone involved, save perhaps the quiet man at the wheel? Then too bad.

Admiral Ramirez wasn't quite that stupid, thank you.

"Hey, Vyse! Look!" Aika bounded up next to him, grabbing his shoulder with one hand and pointing enthusiastically with the other. Following her hand's jabbing aim, he looked out the windows to the side to see a sizeable wooden sailboat, bearing--what else--air pirate insignia.

"Your Dad's following us in!" the redhead beamed, "And I bet he brought a ton of loqua!"

Ramirez couldn't wait, surely. When the Delphinus finally made it to the island and docked, he claimed a sudden queasiness (an excuse that would never work with -_his_- men, properly trained as they were), and followed the enthusiastic crew to the surface. His intention was to find Vyse's quarters, sit down, and think for a good long while... alone.

Obviously this wasn't destined to happen anytime soon.

"You're late, Vyse." a voice gruffed from behind him, and Ramirez turned.

---- ----: -x- :---- ----  
Skies of Arcadia Legends © someone else.  
All here that is _not_ found in the game... is mine.  
Never steal if you value your spleen.

Reviews are lovely, reviews make the Aro happy, and a happy Aro is more inspired to write.

However, they are not absolutely required, and flames will result in a very annoyed Aro. I'm not forcing you to read my stuff, you must realize. So I've no sympathy for you if you read it, hate it, and yet can't keep your pointer off the review button.

Constructive criticism is awesome, mind, but I can tell thinly-veiled sarcasm when I see it.

**Leland Lancaster:** Thanks. :D  
Now let's hope Vyse doesn't get gnawed on too much before "the heroic trio" gets there. Hee. ;)

**delphinusforever:** Dear, for one, I happen to be juggling something near a dozen stories. Just because I update one doesn't mean I've abandoned the others.  
For another, going off your recent reviews of both stories... if I'm that confusing, maybe you shouldn't be reading my stuff? Not trying to drive you off, or something, but clearly something is incompatible here.  
Thanks for the review...

**Chris Pete:** I'm not gonna be explaining symbolism, since it's something the characters themselves will work out as the story progresses and they remember more. :)  
Sorry. ;) Thanks for the review, though!


End file.
